RELEASE THE PRESSURE

In the Netherlands, archery has changed a lot over the years. Archery was once known as a sport played in bars, just like darts, but currently there are several regional practice centres and the national team has a full-time programme at Papendal, the Olympic training centre. During competitions emphasis has moved to the elimination rounds where the winner proceeds and the loser is out. The pressure has increased in different ways.

Archery is a precision sport which is dominated by the mind. According to some Korean research 50% of the results in archery are due to mental processes while this is perhaps 20 or 30% for other sports. But not every archer knows how to best prepare themselves for competitions.

One of the most common ways of competition preparation is described by Jake Kaminski in his book. He prepares for international tournaments by reducing the amounts of arrows he shoots and practicing solely on blank bale. There is no hit or miss anymore and he can focus entirely on his technique. However, is this really the best way to prepare for a big competition?

At an international tournament, some archers